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Your healthiest fast food choices

A classic McDonalds Happy Meal has about 650 calories -- more than half the amount a preschooler should eat in one day.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Studies show that 84 percent of parents take children to fast food at least once a week

Only 12 meal options of the more than 3,000 tested passed the nutrition test for a preschooler

There are some healthy options at fast food restaurants, for both you and your child

(CNN) -- Toby Amidor remembers well -- but not fondly -- her child's meltdown over a bottle of Yoo-hoo.

Amidor, a mother of three, was making her order at a pizza restaurant, when her son, Schoen, who was then around 4 years old, proceeded to have a fit because she wanted him to drink water with his meal and he wanted a Yoo-hoo. His friend was with them, and his mom was letting him order a Yoo-hoo -- why couldn't he have one, too?

"He really had a major breakdown," says Amidor. "It was embarrassing. People were starting to look at us."

But a temper tantrum didn't deter Amidor. A registered dietitian and nutrition expert for the Food Network, she was not about to be bullied by a preschooler.

"I took him outside and gave him a stern talking to," says Amidor, who says she's not crazy about the sugar content of the chocolate-flavored drink. "I told him if he wanted to stay with his friend, he'd have to stop having a fit."

With billions spent in advertising high-fat, sugary foods to children, it's no wonder parents have to take a kid outside for a good talking-to to persuade them to eat the healthy stuff. It's a battle parents face often: According to a new study from Yale University, 84 percent of parents take children to fast food restaurants at least once a week.

To get your little one to order healthier options, you have to know two things. First, you have to know what those options are. They're not exactly plentiful, according to the Yale study, which says of the more than 3,000 children's meals options they examined, only 12 of them passed the nutrition test for a preschooler.

Secondly, you have to know the right tricks to convince your little one (who's sometimes being a little monster) to stop having a fit and eat the apples instead of the French fries.

Below are healthier options for your child at popular fast food joints, and advice from seasoned moms about how to do the convincing, and also some healthier options for you to eat at these restaurants.

When her son had a fit over the Yoo-hoo, Amidor made a threat (loss of playdate with friend), and she meant it. She even took him outside to get his undivided attention and to let him know she was serious.

"Lots of parents give in to kids very, very easily," says Amidor, an adjunct professor at Teacher's College at Columbia University and mother of three young children.

2. Bribe them

Kim Orlando, founder of TravelingMom.com, isn't embarrassed to admit she offered cash incentives to get her children to eat better on a recent cross-country trip with her three children, ages 12, 10, and 8.

"I realized that if I didn't do something, they would be eating chicken nuggets and fries from Connecticut to California," she wrote in an email. "I didn't want to fight with them every time we stopped for a meal, so I decided to bribe them. I told them that if they didn't eat ANY chicken nuggets the ENTIRE trip, I would pay them 20 bucks each. It worked like a charm."

Her children turned it into a competition, seeing who could find the best alternatives. Her oldest boy, Dario, fell in love with Caesar salad, Sophia became the "BLT queen," and her youngest, Romano chose pasta.

3. Have them order off the adult menu

It's more expensive than the kids' menu, and the portions may be too plentiful, but there are more options, too, Orlando notes. You can always have them split one order, or take home the extra.